Chicago Cubs Closer Ryan Pressly Makes History With Brutal Extra-Inning Meltdown

Ryan Pressly gave up eight earned runs without recording a single out in the 11th inning on Tuesday, dooming the Chicago Cubs late against the San Francisco Giants.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Ryan Pressly (55) pitches against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the ninth inning at PNC Park. | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

While the Chicago Cubs' bats came through in the clutch by forcing extra innings Tuesday night, Ryan Pressly certainly didn't rise to the occasion.

Chicago trailed the San Francisco Giants 5-3 entering the bottom of the ninth, until RBI singles from Justin Turner and Kyle Tucker tied the score. The teams remained locked at 5-5 through the 10th, leading the Cubs to turn to their All-Star closer in Pressly in the 11th.

Pressly immediately gave up a double, a single and a sacrifice bunt, allowing the Giants to jump ahead by two. He didn't even get an out on Brett Wisely's bunt, as Heliot Ramos slid into home safely and Wisely himself reached on a fielder's choice.

From there, Pressly continued to melt down. A walk, hit-by-pitch and three straight singles made it a 12-5 ballgame.

The 36-year-old right-hander didn't record a single out before Caleb Thielbar relieved him. Both of the runners Thielbar inherited from Pressly came around to score on a double and a sacrifice fly, respectively, to put San Francisco up 14-5.

That made Pressly's final line five hits, one walk, eight earned runs and nine total runs allowed in 0.0 innings pitched.

Chicago, meanwhile, went down in order in the bottom of the 11th. Pressly got stuck with the loss, falling to 2-2 on the season.

According to OptaSTATS, Pressly became the only MLB relief pitcher ever to allow eight-plus earned runs in a game, not record an out and get credit for his team's loss since earned runs became an official stat in both leagues in 1913. Yahoo Sports' Jake Mintz & Jordan Shusterman noted that he is one of 15 pitchers and eighth reliever to face at least eight batters and not retire any of them.

Pressly joined Hank Borowy as the second pitcher in MLB history to allow nine-plus runs without recording an out, per Underdog Fantasy's Justin Havens. Borowy achieved the feat in 1951.

Prior to Tuesday, Pressly boasted a 2.08 ERA on the season, although his 1.462 WHIP and 4.93 FIP showed he had been getting a bit lucky. Pressly's luck ran out Tuesday, as his ERA and WHIP climbed to 7.62 and 1.923, respectively.

Pressly is still 4-for-4 in save opportunities, but his WAR has fallen to -0.8.

The Cubs acquired Pressly in a trade with the Houston Astros in January, adding a veteran high-leverage reliever on an expiring deal. He made two All-Star appearances in Houston, winning a World Series ring and posting 90 saves between 2021 and 2023.

Chicago and San Francisco will close out their series with a rubber match at 2:20 p.m. ET on Wednesday.

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